The Most Incredible Buzzer-Beaters of the College Basketball Season

Buzzer-beaters are a staple of the postseason in college basketball, but this year, even the regular season has been loaded with astounding finishes. From coast-to-coast dashes to half-court heaves, there’s been something for everyone in the final seconds of some of this season’s marquee matchups.

Among many scintillating overtime games on the year, few have provided bigger upsets than Villanova’s home-court stunner over Syracuse. The Orange looked ready to escape from Philly with a win until gun-slinging freshman Ryan Arcidiacono stroked a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds on the clock to send the game to an extra session.

Herein, a closer look at Arcidiacono’s game-saver and the rest of the 10 most amazing finishes in the country in 2012-13.

Honorable Mention: Sabatino Chen Comes Oh-So-Close in Tucson

Before we start on the list properly, let's pay homage to a buzzer-beater that almost was. On January 3, mighty Arizona was still unbeaten, but the Wildcats had gotten all they could handle on their home floor against unranked Colorado.

With the game tied in the waning seconds, the Buffs’ Sabatino Chen fired what could have been a game-winning three-pointer.

After an extended review, though, the officials decided that Chen hadn’t quite launched his bomb in time, sending the game to OT (where the Wildcats would run away with the victory).

10. Kevin Pangos Goes the Distance

It may not have been quite on Tyus Edney’s level, but Kevin Pangos pulled off a pretty impressive coast-to-coast drive to keep Gonzaga unbeaten in early December.

The No. 10 Zags were on the road against local rival Washington State, and the Cougars were thinking OT upset after DaVonte Lacy’s lay-in tied the game with 7.8 seconds to play.

Pangos, who had hit just one of his 11 shots on the night, took the inbounds pass inside his own foul line and proceeded to outrun most of the players on both teams. His scoop went high off the glass and in, and Gonzaga improved to 9-0 on the young season.

9. Remember When Miami Could Actually Lose?

Miami hasn’t lost since Christmas Day, and even then, the Hurricanes didn’t go down easy. A defensive duel with Indiana State in the Diamond Head Classic came down to the wire in overtime, still tied at 55.

Sycamores point guard Jake Odum, who had just seven points in the game at the time, called his own number for the team’s biggest shot of the year.

With an up-and-under move from the free-throw line, the senior outmaneuvered 6’5” Trey McKinney Jones to bank in the deciding bucket with 0.8 seconds to play.

4. Indiana Can’t Find 6’9” Guy in Bright White Shirt

Most last-second shots are impressive precisely because they’re so difficult to execute. Tyler Griffey found a way to make the play of the year for Illinois on a shot that belonged in a pregame layup line.

An acrobatic rejection by Victor Oladipo looked certain to send Illinois’ home meeting with top-ranked Indiana into OT, as the Illini had less than a second to score in a tie game.

However, when the Hoosier defense lost track of Griffey on a switch, the senior forward slipped to the rim for an uncontested layup and the biggest upset of Illinois’ rollercoaster season.

2. Matthew Dellavedova Shocks BYU

BYU was unbeaten in WCC action when St. Mary’s came to town on January 16, and it very nearly stayed that way. Tyler Haws’ runner with 2.5 seconds to play had the Gaels down two with the length of the court to go.

It wasn’t far enough.

St. Mary’s star Matthew Dellavedova took the inbounds pass, dribbled once, leaned around BYU’s Anson Winder and swished a 40-footer to win the game for the visitors.